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Here are some of my favorite things I have been using recently. I highly recommend all of them and are a pleasure to use.

Milwaukee M18 FUEL SURGE 1/4″ Hex Hydraulic Driver

For far too long I used a cordless drill (as most do) to drive screws – never again! This M18 Fuel Surge driver might be my all time favorite tool. This surge version is oil filled and much quieter than a regular impact driver. I have a bad wrist, shattered in a skiing accident years ago, so not having the torque of a cordless drill twist your wrist is amazing. The mechanism inside the driver gives the torque to the screw, not your hand. This tool as started my love affair with all things Milwaukee. Every tool I have purchased of theirs is so much better than others I have used including hand tools.

Star Head Screws

Philips head should be put out to pasture. Star heads, also known as Torx, are not prone to stripping like the common philips head. Moving forward my shop will be only stocked with star head construction screws for general fastening. I will be keeping the common drywall screw around only for its named purpose. I highly recommend GRK screws for cabinet or higher load work.

Apple AirPods

If you have a pair you will understand, AirPods are awesome. They pair seamlessly across my iPhone, Apple Watch, & Macs with surprisingly good range. They also serve as a superior microphone for voice & video calls. Using them for Podcasts, Music, & Audio Books they are one of my most used gadgets.

AirPlay 2

Released almost a year after being announced, AirPlay 2 allows you to sync and control multi-room audio from any iOS device. Currently, I have Apple TV’s with HDMI audio extractors plugged into receivers controlled my Harmony Hubs (ugh). I plan to use Homebridge to add the Harmony Hubs to HomeKit but have not gotten around to it yet.

It is still early days so I am eager to see what audio devices will support AirPlay 2. It looks like Apple might (🤞) be adding AirPlay 2 support to AirPort Express v2 devices, time will tell. Just in case I have picked up two used one for $25 a piece since they are now discontinued.